This invention relates to an arrangement for supporting an outboard drive unit and more particularly to an improved outboard splash arrangement for such a unit.
Most conventional outboard motor constructions employ a clamping bracket that is adapted to be affixed in a suitable manner to the hull of the associated watercraft and which pivotally supports a swivel bracket for tilt and trim movements. The swivel bracket, in turn, journals a steering shaft for steering movement about a generally vertically extending steering axis when the swivel bracket is tilted down. The steering shaft, in turn, is resiliently connected to the driveshaft housing so as to support the remaining components of the outboard motor on the clamping bracket. The resilient support is employed for reducing the transmission of vibration from the operation of the propulsion unit, including the powering internal combustion engine, to the hull.
Normally the driveshaft housing is a generally open casing made from a lightweight material such as aluminum or aluminum alloy casting. Conventionally the structure for attaching the lower end of the steering shaft to the driveshaft housing has been comprised of an attaching bracket comprised of two bracket members capturing a resilient member that engages a portion of the driveshaft housing at a lower end. Typically, the attachment bracket has typically been attached to the driveshaft housing at a point where only the two exterior walls of the driveshaft housing provide reaction support for the attachment bracket. Further, the bottom end of a steering shaft is located only partially down the side of the driveshaft housing and therefore the driveshaft housing may vibrate and cause vibrations to be transferred back into the watercraft.
Also, it is well known that as watercrafts with outboard motors travel through the water the portion of the driveshaft housing contacting the water and the associated hull splashes water upward from the surface of the water. In order to prevent the splashed water from impinging upon the upper portion of the outboard motor, splash plates are formed in the driveshaft housing and lower unit.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the this invention to provide an improvement to the rigidity of the mounting of the driveshaft housing to the steering shaft.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mounting arrangement for the steering shaft of an outboard motor to the driveshaft housing that will not allow water to splash into the powerhead of the outboard motor.